Brampton Thunder 2000 Preview

Thunder looking for redemption

Placing second in their division, the Brampton Thunder are one of the dominant teams in the NWHL.

With veteran players like Karen Nystrom, Vicky Sunohara, Jayna Hefford, Meaghan Sittler and Sami Jo Small, its no surprise they had a .800 winning percentage.

However, they were defeated by the number one team in the NWHL  the Beatrice Aeros  in the Western Division finals, who went on to win the inaugural NWHL Cup over the Ste-Julie Pantheres.

All the Thunder can ask is another chance to prove themselves. With the addition of former Aero Stephanie Kay, they are that much closer to getting a glimpse of the Cup. Kay was third in team scoring, netting the Aeros 22 goals and 26 assistts for 48 points.

Nystrom lead the league in scoring last year with 64 points. She is near or at the top of every offensive category: first in goals, fifth in assists, tied for second in power-play goals and tied for forth in game-winning goals.

In net, Small provides solid goaltending. A member of Team Canada's 2000 World Championship win in overtime over the U.S., she was 15-2-3 with a 1.47 goals-against average. Backing her up is Stacy Kellough, who was also dominant in net for the Thunder.